ED CARPENTER FINISHES 6TH IN RAIN-SHORTENED ABC SUPPLY 500

– Ed Carpenter not only matched his best result of 2019 today, he also earned the 50th Top 10 finish of his NTT IndyCar Series career. The team owner finished 6th in today’s ABC Supply 500, the second of two 500-mile races this year. However, Mother Nature had other plans and the race was red flagged, then checkered, after 128 of the scheduled 200 laps. Spencer Pigot had raced his way up to 7th before contact with the wall ended his day on Lap 40.

– First practice was cancelled to due weather yesterday, followed by scrapping qualifications in favor of one extended practice session. Per the INDYCAR Rule Book, the starting field was set on entrant points. The No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet, driven by Carpenter on ovals and Ed Jones on road and street courses, sat 15th in entrant points. Pigot, in the No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet, was 12th. Those would be their starting positions for the race.

– A five-car collision broke out in Turn 2 of the opening lap. Both Pigot and Carpenter avoided the melee and found themselves inside the Top 10. A lengthy red flag period followed while the track’s fence was repaired. Drivers were eventually called back to their cars and the race was restarted on Lap 8. Pigot was 7th and Carpenter was 10th.

– Both Ed Carpenter Racing drivers came in for their first pit stops on Lap 35. Pigot’s return to action was short-lived as he hit a bump in the Turn 1 area of the track. The No. 21 shot away from him without any steering and he made heavy contact with the wall. He was quickly out of the car under his own power and was checked, cleared and released from the infield care center. The No. 21 sustained too much damage to be repaired and was retired from the event; Pigot wold be credited with a 17th place finish.

– Carpenter was running 11th at the time of Pigot’s incident and used the ensuing restart to begin his charge forward. By the time the next round of pit stops began, he was up to 8th. He had cycled up to 4th for his second pit stop on Lap 71; three laps later, the yellow flag flew again.

– When the race went back green on Lap 82, Carpenter was scored in 7th. He passed three cars in one lap, moving back into 4th on Lap 83. Eventual race winner Will Power took one of the positions back, placing Carpenter in 5th. One of the cars involved in the Lap 1 accident had re-joined the race, 89 laps down. Losing time behind the lapped car and with the threat of rain, Carpenter dove in for his third pit stop on Lap 105.

– After the leaders had made what would ultimately be their final pit stops, Carpenter was 6th. As lightning was spotted in the area, the race went yellow on Lap 126. Two laps later, the red flag was shown for the second time today. With storms rapidly approaching, NTT IndyCar Series officials called for the checkered flag.

– Carpenter’s 6th place finish matches his best of the year as he also finished 6th in the Indianapolis 500. It is also his 50th career Top 10 finish, 20 of which have come since he started his own team in 2012. Carpenter began racing exclusively on the oval events in 2014. He has competed in each race since the NTT IndyCar Series returned to Pocono Raceway in 2013; today’s result is his highest at the 2.5-mile triangular oval.

– Pocono was the first in a string of three back-to-back race weekends. Ed Carpenter Racing will head to World Wide Technology Raceway (formerly Gateway Motorsports Park) next weekend. There, Carpenter will conclude his 2019 season as the 1.25-mile track is the last oval on this year’s schedule. Pigot will make his 50th start for ECR; aside from Carpenter, Pigot is the team’s longest-tenured driver. The Bommarito Automotive Group 500 will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Network, beginning at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. local) on Saturday, August 24.

ED CARPENTER, No. 20 SONAX Chevrolet, Finished 6th: “We needed a decent run. We DNF’ed at Iowa, which wasn’t good. I feel like we have been performing better this year, we just haven’t really been able to put it together. It was nice to be in the mix, racing with the guys you need to race with to be up there fighting for wins. I wish we could have seen out all 500 miles but Pocono always has its own craziness when it comes to the weather. Hopefully, all of the fans got to their cars before they got too wet. I thought it was a really good turnout today, it was a fun race while we were out there. It was unfortunate to see guys kind of lose their minds a bit there at the start, but all in all it was a fun day and nice to be moving forward.”

SPENCER PIGOT, No. 21 Autogeek Chevrolet, Finished 17th: “That was a frustrating end to the day, we hit a bump in Turn 1 and it caused something to break on the front of the car. From then on, I was just a passenger and went straight up into the wall. I had no steering at that point, unfortunately. We were running pretty comfortably there in 7th and the car was feeling pretty good. We had lost touch with the group in front but I felt like we had a solid car. I feel bad for everyone at Ed Carpenter Racing, we have a race again next weekend and now there is a lot of extra work to do.”